COLTS SIGN FREE AGENT DE MARCUS HAYNES AND PLACE WR D.J. MONTGOMERY ON THE INJURED RESERVE LIST
The Indianapolis Colts today signed free agent defensive end Marcus Haynes and placed wide receiver D.J. Montgomery on the Injured Reserve list.
Haynes, 6-4, 240 pounds, most recently played for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League in 2025. He has spent time with the Cleveland Browns (2024-25), Pittsburgh Steelers (2024), Houston Texans (2024) and Denver Broncos (2023). Haynes was originally signed by the Broncos as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023. Collegiately, he played in 49 career games (21 starts) at Old Dominion (2018-22) and compiled 102 tackles (55 solo), 22.0 tackles for loss, 15.0 sacks, five passes defensed, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Montgomery, 6-1, 201 pounds, has spent time with the Colts (2022-25), Texans (2022), New York Jets (2020-22) and Browns (2019-20). He has played in 10 career games and has registered six receptions for 92 yards (15.3 avg.) and one touchdown. Montgomery has also tallied one special teams tackle. In 2024, he spent the entire season on Indianapolis’ practice squad.
BILLS RUNNING BACK JAMES COOK ENDS CONTRACT STANDOFF BY AGREEING TO A FOUR-YEAR DEAL
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — After securing a big payday and a four-year deal to stay with the Buffalo Bills, running back James Cook couldn’t hide his satisfaction.
The fourth-year player grinned throughout practice Wednesday after ending his contract standoff.
“You would, too,” a smiling Cook said.
Cook’s deal will pay him $48 million over the four years, two people with knowledge of the agreement confirmed to The Associated Press. The contract includes $30 million in guaranteed money, one of the people said.
They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because financial details of the contract have not been announced.
“Good to be back out there and play with my team,” Cook said. “Just get another opportunity to do what I love to do.”
The new deal comes a day after Cook ended his weeklong standoff by returning to practice. He skipped four straight sessions and although he took part in warmups, he declined to play in Buffalo’s preseason-opener against the New York Giants on Saturday.
”I think we just had an understanding that we need to practice if we’re going to be able to get back to the table,” general manager Brandon Beane said, noting an emphasis was placed on getting a deal done once Cook returned to practice Tuesday. “There was good faith on both parts, from him and his agent, to our side.”
Cook was the NFL’s co-leader with 16 touchdowns rushing last season. His 18 touchdowns, including two receiving, doubled his combined production in his first two seasons (four TDs rushing, five receiving). And he was part of an offense that finished second in the league in averaging more than 30 points per outing.
Cook was selected by Buffalo in the second round of the 2022 draft out of Georgia. His older brother is Dalvin Cook, best known for his six seasons in Minnesota and who spent last year appearing in two games with Dallas.
Until Wednesday, Cook proved to be the odd-man out in Beane’s offseason binge of signing core players to multiyear contract extensions. The group was made up of quarterback Josh Allen, receiver Khalil Shakir, edge rusher Greg Rousseau, linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Christian Benford.
“These are guys who are all players that we extended this offseason that I feel are all ascending talents in this league,” Beane said.
Cook said “it’s special” to join fellow members of the 2022 draft class — Shakir, Bernard and Benford — in signing extensions with the Bills.
“The guys that came in with me, we all got rewarded,” Cook said. “Now it’s time for us to go play football and show why we belong here.”
After practicing fully during the Bills’ first eight sessions of training camp this year, Cook began his “hold-in” on Aug. 3 by watching practice wearing a white sweatsuit along the sideline.
“Just trying to protect myself,” Cook said. “Just trying to stay healthy and get everything done before I can get out there and play with a clear mindset and just be locked in.”
Cook also declined to participate in the Bills’ voluntary spring sessions before reporting and practicing in the team’s three-day mandatory minicamp in June. He said the reason behind his decision to report was not wanting to risk getting fined.
At the start of training camp, Cook expressed confidence his contract status would eventually be resolved.
“However it happens, it’s going to get done, wherever it happens,” he said. “I deserve what I want, what I need, and it’s eventually going to happen.”
How long was Cook prepared to sit out of practice and games in order to secure his new deal?
“However long it took,” said Cook, flashing another smile. “But we got it done. So we don’t need to be discussing that. And let’s play football.”
NFL’S COACHING HOT SEAT INCLUDES MIKE TOMLIN AND ZAC TAYLOR
Nick Sirianni entered last season with his job on the line in Philadelphia and finished it hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy, earning a lucrative contract extension.
There are several coaches under similar pressure this year. Can anyone pull off the same feat?
Sirianni led the Eagles to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons and the team fell just short of winning the Super Bowl in 2022. Then a 10-2 start in 2023 was followed by a major collapse and a lopsided playoff loss. That nearly cost Sirianni his job.
But he stuck around, gave new coordinators Kellen Moore (offense) and Vic Fangio (defense) more control and overcame a rocky relationship with fans to lead the Eagles to the franchise’s second Super Bowl title in eight seasons.
Here are some of the NFL coaches who are on the hot seat:
Mike Tomlin
The Pittsburgh Steelers have never had a losing season under Tomlin, who is 183-107-2 with one Super Bowl title since replacing Bill Cowher in 2007. But they haven’t won a playoff game since 2016.
They signed Aaron Rodgers and added other veterans, including cornerback Darius Slay, wide receiver DK Metcalf, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith. Clearly, they’re in win-now mode.
The Steelers have had only three head coaches since 1969. The organization values stability and Tomlin has been the model of consistency and winning. It’s difficult to imagine Tomlin could be coaching for his future, but he needs to have postseason success.
Zac Taylor
The Cincinnati Bengals went to the Super Bowl in Taylor’s third season and fell a few points short of going back the following year. But they’ve missed the playoffs following consecutive 9-8 seasons and poor starts have cost them.
The Bengals are 7-14-1 in September under Taylor. That needs to change. With Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Taylor’s offense has plenty of firepower. A bottom-10 defense has been a problem the past two seasons.
Mike McDaniel
After leading the Miami Dolphins to the playoffs in his first two seasons, McDaniel’s unit took a step backward last season.
The Dolphins finished 8-9 and have dealt with some turmoil in the offseason. Star wideout Tyreek Hill wanted out before changing his mind and publicly apologizing to QB Tua Tagovailoa and teammates.
McDaniel was brought in to lead Miami to playoff success. The Dolphins are still seeking their first postseason victory since Dec. 30, 2000.
Brian Daboll
The 2022 AP NFL Coach of the Year probably has the hottest seat going into this season.
Daboll led the Giants to nine wins plus one more in the playoffs as a rookie coach, but the team is 9-25 over the past two seasons.
The Giants are in a tough NFC East that includes the defending Super Bowl champs, a Commanders team that reached the conference title game and the talented-but-drama-laden Cowboys.
Russell Wilson will get first crack at trying to help save Daboll’s job in New York. The Giants have Wilson, Jameis Winston and rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart. Daboll needs to get enough wins to stick around to develop Dart.
Shane Steichen
He is 17-17 in two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts with no playoff appearances.
After helping develop Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia as the offensive coordinator for two seasons, Steichen hasn’t had much success with Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis. Daniel Jones could be the choice for Steichen and the Colts at QB.
Jonathan Gannon
Like Steichen, Gannon parlayed his success as a coordinator in Philadelphia into a head coaching job. But he’s 12-22 in two seasons in Arizona.
The Cardinals lost five of seven after a 6-4 start last season, and Gannon can’t afford to have the losing carry over into this season.
Kevin Stefanski
A two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year in five seasons in Cleveland, Stefanski and his Browns are coming off a dismal 3-14 campaign.
Quarterback instability — a common issue for the Browns — has plagued Stefanski, who has started 11 different QBs. Stefanski might have earned enough equity with a pair of 11-win seasons, but the Browns have to be much more competitive this season.
FORMER STEELERS QBS RUSSELL WILSON AND JUSTIN FIELDS REUNITE AS STARTERS FOR THE GIANTS AND JETS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — A year ago, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were the top two quarterbacks at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp vying for the starting role.
This week, they were back on the same field together in the same market, but with different teams — with Wilson installed as the starter for the New York Giants and Fields filling the same spot for the Jets.
“It’s kind of crazy how it worked out,” Fields said.
Two joint practices — one at each team’s facility — before the Giants and Jets face off in the preseason on Saturday night gave Wilson and Fields the chance to catch up however briefly before again going their separate ways.
Rivals no more, they were able to connect and wish each other the best — in separate conferences, with their collective history behind them.
“He’s a great friend, great teammate,” Wilson said. “I loved playing with him and I know he’s going to have a great year.”
Their time together had its ups and downs. Wilson was given the starting job out of camp, then a calf injury sidelined him for the first six weeks, opening the door for Fields to play, winning four of the six games he started.
Wilson got healthy and took over, starting every game the rest of the way, while Fields tweaked a hamstring and was relegated to backup duty through a wild-card playoff defeat. During the process of coming to peace with that, Fields learned some things from his older counterpart along the way.
“Just how he goes about his everyday business, you can really see how he operates and stuff like that,” Fields said after practice Tuesday at the Jets’ facility in Florham Park, New Jersey. “Really just trying to take bits of pieces of what he does and implement it into my game, my routine and everything like that.”
Fields agreed to join the Jets on March 10 after they announced they were releasing Aaron Rodgers, who later signed with Pittsburgh. Wilson did the same with the Giants a little over two weeks later. That coincidence came up initially, but they haven’t talked about it much since.
That doesn’t mean they don’t talk. Their relationship dates to Fields’ time in college from 2018-20, by which time Wilson already had established himself in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with Seattle.
“He’s been awesome: an awesome mentor, an awesome person,” Fields said. “It was great learning from him last year and great being in the same room as him last year.”
Their dynamic has evolved over the years, including sharing a locker room together in Pittsburgh. Wilson called that chance “a tremendous honor in the quarterback club.”
“I really admire his work ethic, admire his friendship and who we (were) as teammates and we’ll forever be connected,” Wilson said. “He’s tremendously talented, and I’ll always have his back and all that and vice versa.”
Fields feels the same, believing he could reach out to Wilson for advice and receive it with no hesitation, even though they’re no longer with the same organization.
They’re still in the same area after signing with the New York teams that call northern New Jersey home for games and practices. Still, the two haven’t gotten the chance to hang out for an extended period of time or break bread over dinner to talk about glory days.
They probably won’t now, with the season on the verge of getting underway, but they’re glad they found favorable landing spots.
“We were just happy for each other,” Fields said. “Both happy that we were able to find a new home.”
FALCONS QB MICHAEL PENIX JR. LANDS AT BOTTOM OF PILE DURING JOINT-PRACTICE SCUFFLE WITH TITANS
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was surprised to find himself in the middle of a scuffle that interrupted his team’s second joint practice with the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday.
After connecting with Ray-Ray McCloud III on a long touchdown pass, Penix said he was “celebrating” with comments he said were delivered in response to “words” from Tennessee players.
“I like to compete at a high level and when I compete I don’t really do too much talking,” Penix said. “So somebody say something to me and … OK, I throw a touchdown. ‘Now what y’all talking about?’ And then I guess not everybody take that the right way. And I think that’s all it was.”
Penix was thrown to the ground by one or more Tennessee players. Penix ended up at the bottom of a pile of players. He said it was the first time he’s been involved in an altercation like that on the field.
The scuffle came only hours after Falcons coach Raheem Morris commended players for competing in the first joint practice Tuesday “without all the foolish things” like fights on the field.
Tennessee players were critical of their inability to match the intensity of the Falcons’ players in Wednesday’s first joint practice. The visitors were determined to show more fire in the second joint practice.
“The team had a little scuffle going on, but after the scuffle we were still able to play football and keep that high intensity,” said Titans outside linebacker Arden Key.
The joint practices were staged at the Falcons’ practice facility before the teams play a preseason game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday night.
Falcons quarterback coach D.J. Williams wasn’t happy to see Penix, the second-year quarterback entering his first full season as the starter, at the bottom of the pile. “Obviously, you don’t want that,” Williams said.
Williams said it was revealing to see how Penix’s teammates rose to his defense.
“I take the positive out of it,” Williams said. “Like you saw the guys take up for him. And I think that speaks to his leadership and who he is in that locker room. … Obviously he has the relationship and the trust of the guys because everybody ran to his defense. So I think that’s a good thing for the Falcons.”
Following the practice, Penix was still struggling to process the altercation.
“I don’t know. I was somebody else,” Penix said.
Asked about being at the bottom of the pile, he said, “I don’t know where I was at in it. It was a lot of people in it. I know I was down there somewhere. I wasn’t the only one, though.”
Penix said he was appreciative “to see the team had my back and they were there to make sure they protect me. A lot of guys asked me if I was good.”
Morris said Penix will sit out the second straight preseason game. Backup Kirk Cousins also may be held out after the two split most of the snaps in team drills in the joint practices.
Titans coach Brian Callahan, who spoke before Wednesday’s practice, said the same players who played in the team’s 29-7 loss at Tampa Bay in last week’s preseason opener likely will play against the Falcons. That list includes rookie starter Cam Ward, who played two series against the Buccaneers and was encouraged by the response to the team’s disappointing Tuesday practice.
“Today’s practice, we were a lot better,” Ward said.
Ward acknowledged his Wednesday practice wasn’t perfect. He was picked off by Falcons safety Dee Alford after he was forced to scramble and then tried to throw the ball out of bounds.
“Just not putting enough on it,” Ward said.
Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, said he already feels “I’d be fully prepared” to open the regular season this week.
RAIDERS STAR CROSBY CALLS CHIEFS’ MAHOMES THE ULTIMATE COMPETITOR, A BIG REASON FOR HIS SUCCESS
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Maxx Crosby kept running into star athletes over the summer, from NBA great Kevin Garnett to former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., and the instant connection they shared made the Raiders’ star pass rusher think about another athlete he keeps coming across a couple of times a year.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The reason was simple: “He’s the ultimate competitor,” Crosby said.
“Like, I’ve had the honor to meet some of the greatest players, greatest people, greatest dudes across all different types of walk of life,” Crosby explained, “and I could say this: Like, when you meet somebody else that’s an ultimate competitor, and that is all what you’re about, I don’t even have to say nothing. It’s just, you click right away.”
Crosby and Mahomes are not exactly best of buds, but there is a healthy dose of respect between two of the fiercest rivals in the AFC West. Crosby has sacked Mahomes six times in 12 career games, yet the Chiefs have won eight of the last nine.
Mahomes is 12-2 against the Raiders overall, throwing 33 touchdown passes and only five interceptions.
“So, I got the ultimate respect for Pat. I’ve said it a million times,” Crosby said. “I look at myself as the ultimate competitor. I look at myself as the best in the world. I know he thinks he’s the best in the world. And I’ve said it myself. So, he brings the best out of me. I know I bring the best out of him. So definitely looking forward to those wars.”
Mahomes isn’t exactly sure where his competitive nature comes from, though dad is a safe place start. Pat Mahomes Sr. managed to hang around for 11 years in the big leagues, and his son spent a lot of those years hanging out in the clubhouse.
It’s what drives Mahomes all offseason, when his personal trainer, Bobby Stroupe, is putting him through yet another brutal workout. It’s what pushes him in practice, the boiling ones at training camp and the frigid ones late in the season. And it’s what allows him to push through the pain of bumps and bruises on gameday, when other QBs might call it quits.
It’s what has allowed Mahomes to continually rally his team, leading them to five Super Bowls and three championships.
“Yeah, that burn to win is at the highest level of probably any player in the NFL,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “He’s built different that way, and I think when you have that, it goes on to these players on the team — offense, defense, special teams — and us as coaches. You want to make sure you are doing everything possible.”
So many games in the NFL come down to the wire, Nagy said, and the sheer will to win sometimes makes the difference.
“When you have him on your side, you know he’s going to give you a great chance,” Nagy said. “When we lost that Super Bowl (in February), it was the very next day and he was ready to go, and we just know that it’s a great, high standard that we all have.”
Mahomes readily admits that the 40-22 loss to the Eagles in New Orleans was one of the worst performances of his career, and that the Philadelphia defense had a lot to do with it. He threw two interceptions and was sacked six times.
Still, the numbers that Mahomes — who turns 30 next month — has compiled through his first eight seasons are staggering.
His career passer rating of 102.1 is second only to Aaron Rodgers, while Mahomes’ average of 288.9 yards passing per game is the best of anyone to play the quarterback position. But perhaps most importantly, Mahomes has led the Chiefs to seven of their nine consecutive AFC West titles, and then reached the conference title game in each of those seven seasons.
“I think you always have to get better,” Mahomes said. “That’s something that people lose track of when you have success. Obviously we didn’t win that last game, but we had a lot of success last year. And I think sometimes people want to be stagnant, and they want to go out there and just do it over again. But you see with the rest of the AFC West, the rest of the AFC and the NFL, everybody is getting better. So we have to get better.”
Spoken like someone whose competitive fire is blazing hotter than ever.
“We have to keep the urgency in practice, competing, going at it,” Mahomes said. “You want to be competitive, but you want to be better together. That’s something that we’ve always done, but we want to try to take it to a new level this year.”
JETS’ SAUCE GARDNER SITS OUT PRACTICE WITH SORE CALF, STATUS FOR PRESEASON GAME VS. GIANTS UNCERTAIN
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner sat out the team’s joint practice with the Giants on Wednesday because of a sore calf.
Gardner participated in practice Tuesday at the Jets’ facility in Florham Park but wasn’t spotted during the teams’ session at the Giants’ facility Wednesday.
“Sauce wasn’t out (there) today,” coach Aaron Glenn said after practice. “He had some calf soreness. We’ll continue to evaluate him and see exactly where he’s at.”
Gardner has been one of the Jets’ best players since being drafted fourth overall out of Cincinnati in 2022. He was the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and was an All-Pro selection in his first two NFL seasons. The 24-year-old Gardner had a slightly off season, by his standards, last year but is still considered one of the league’s elite cornerbacks.
Gardner signed a four-year, $120.4 million extension through the 2030 season, making him the NFL’s highest-paid player at his position. He also is the focal point of a new-look secondary for the Jets, who have Gardner and free-agent signing Brandon Stephens at cornerback, with Michael Carter as the nickelback and free-agent signing Andre Cisco and Tony Adams at safety.
The Jets don’t have another full practice before their preseason game against the Giants on Saturday night. Glenn declined to say whether he would play his starters in that game — “The plan is the plan,” is all he would divulge — so it’s unclear if Gardner would participate even if healthy.
Typically, teams play their starters for a quarter or a half in the second game, using it as a warmup for the regular season while backups typically play the final preseason game.
Rookie quarterback Brady Cook, an undrafted free agent out of Missouri, was back on the field after leaving practice Tuesday with an ankle injury after someone stepped on his foot. He didn’t participate in team drills.
“Held him out, but I anticipate him playing this week,” Glenn said. “So that’s good.”
Cook is one of just three healthy quarterbacks on the Jets’ roster, with starter Justin Fields and Adrian Martinez. Glenn announced Tuesday that veteran backup Tyrod Taylor had arthroscopic knee surgery and wouldn’t play the rest of the preseason.
BROWNS ROOKIE SHEDEUR SANDERS INJURES HIS OBLIQUE DURING PRACTICE IN PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders sustained an oblique injury during drills early in practice Wednesday and did not play the rest of the session.
Sanders and the Browns were in Philadelphia for a pair of joint practices ahead of Saturday’s preseason game. The Browns did not offer any additional information on Sanders’ availability for the rest of the week.
Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards with two first-half touchdown passes to Kaden Davis in his NFL preseason debut in a win over Carolina on Friday night.
The performance by Hall of Famer Deion Sanders’ son even caught the attention of NBA star LeBron James.
“That young (man) looking good out there,” James wrote. “Keep going UP!!! HEAD down on the grind and HEAD high to the most high.”
The Browns took Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the NFL draft. He wasn’t selected until the 144th overall pick, a stunning fall for the most recognizable player in this draft class.
Sanders finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season for Colorado and threw for a school-record 4,134 yards last season.
He is part of a crowded Browns quarterback room as Deshaun Watson is expected to sit out this season with a torn Achilles tendon. The group also includes Kenny Pickett, 40-year-old Joe Flacco and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, who was responsible for a Football Bowl Subdivision-record 188 total touchdowns during a six-year career that included stops at Central Florida, Oklahoma and Oregon.
Pickett has been slowed in training camp with a hamstring injury and Gabriel experienced a tight hamstring.
BRONCOS RING OF FAME WR LIONEL TAYLOR DIES AT 89
Lionel Taylor, a member of the Denver Broncos’ Ring of Honor and the first pro receiver to make 100 receptions in a season, died on Aug. 6 at age 89, the team announced on Wednesday.
Taylor also was the first Black man to hold a coordinator job in the NFL, according to NFL Films, when he served as the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator in 1980 and ’81.
Taylor made eight appearances for the Chicago Bears in 1959 before jumping to the new American Football League in 1960 with the Broncos. He played seven years in Denver, winning first-team All-Pro honors four times and making the Pro Bowl three times.
In 1960, he had an AFL-high 92 catches for 1,235 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games, then followed up by logging 100 receptions for 1,176 yards and four scores in 14 games the next year.
Taylor topped the AFL in receptions five times during his stint with the Broncos. He concluded his playing career by playing for the Houston Oilers in 1967 and ’68.
In nine AFL seasons and 113 games, Taylor amassed 567 catches for 7,195 yards and 45 touchdowns. He still ranks among the Broncos’ all-time top five in each of those categories as he totaled 543 catches for 6,872 yards and 44 scores for Denver.
Taylor was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receivers coach for two Super Bowl championships in the 1970s before heading up the Rams’ offense.
The Broncos inducted Taylor into their Ring of Fame as part of the inaugural group in 1984.
EAGLES TO INDUCT MALCOLM JENKINS, BUCKO KILROY INTO TEAM’S HOF
The Philadelphia Eagles are honoring a relatively recent standout in Malcolm Jenkins and one of their early greats in the late Bucko Kilroy with their induction into the franchise’s hall of fame in November, the team announced on Wednesday.
The Class of 2025 will be inducted on Nov. 28 during the game against the Chicago Bears.
“It’s a huge honor,” said Jenkins, 37, a former All-Pro safety who was at the team’s joint practice with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday and didn’t know about the announcement. “It’s confirmation that what I did meant something and had impact beyond what I did on the field. It was about the people that I interacted with and how those people then changed. It’s a great testament not only to me, but to everybody that I had a chance to interact with.”
New Orleans selected Jenkins in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. He played his first five seasons for the Saints (2009-13) and the next six with Philadelphia (2011-13) before returning to New Orleans for his last two years (2020-21).
He earned his three Pro Bowl nods with the Eagles (2015, 2017, 2018), and won the Super Bowl with as a Saints rookie in 2009 and with the Eagles in 2017 for the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy.
Jenkins totaled 515 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 58 passes defended, 12 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and 11 interceptions — four returned for touchdowns — in 96 regular-season games (all starts) with the Eagles.
His career totals were 1,044 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 110 passes defended, 20 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries and 21 interceptions (seven returned for scores).
The Eagles chose Jenkins as their nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2019. He won the Byron “Whizzer” White Award from the NFLPA in 2017 for his community outreach efforts.
Francis Joseph “Bucko” Kilroy was a Philadelphia native who played at Notre Dame and Temple before playing his entire 13-year NFL career with the Eagles from 1943-55.
He played in 134 regular-season games (103 starts) on the offensive and defensive line. Kilroy was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1940s team as well as the Pro Bowl in 1952, 1953 and 1954.
Kilroy was a key member of the franchise’s first NFL championship in 1948 as well as the second in 1949.
Kilroy, who died in 2007 at age 86, continued to impact professional football as an Eagles assistant coach and in player personnel for several teams. He helped found the league’s scouting combine and shape the NFL Draft into its modern form. Kilroy spent 64 years in the league, and has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor.
NO TALKING: MICAH PARSONS MUM, JERRY JONES DIGS IN AS DALLAS STANDOFF CONTINUES
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and hold-in All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons made no formal progress in their contract staredown on Wednesday, and only one of the principal parties was willing to talk.
Parsons said leaving the field after watching the team workout, “my mouth is closed.”
Jones resisted feigning optimism about a breakthrough in talks when the team breaks training camp and heads back to Dallas from Oxnard, Calif.
“I don’t know that necessarily talks will,” Jones said. “But we’ve got a game coming, and he’s under contract.”
Jones said there is “nothing” standing in the way of the team negotiating with Parsons, who said he formally and directly requested a trade out of Dallas to executive vice president Stephen Jones, Jerry Jones’ son, earlier this month.
“I stayed quiet but again after repeated shots at myself and all the narratives I have made a tough decision I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys,” he wrote in a social media post on Aug. 1. “My trade request has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally.”
Jerry Jones said Wednesday there is no deadline for the two sides to come to terms on a deal when asked if he could see negotiations ceasing before the regular-season opener at Philadelphia on Sept. 7.
“You don’t have a deadline when you’re playing under contract,” he said.
Parsons, 26, was present on Wednesday but never took the field as the Cowboys went through their final padded practice of camp.
The two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection is in the final year of his rookie contract and scheduled to be paid $24.007 million this season.
